Picnics and Pools and Passion, Oh My! Part Two: Not Your Boring Picnic Basket

I'm like our lady Gloria and feeling hot hot hot. Good thing I can pack up some eats and head to the pool this weekend. Here are some delicious looking snacks that really one-up the norm. Lookin' easy and delish, so you can get right back in the water. With a full stomach. You rebel, you.

Emeril's Macaroni Salad is looking great!

Tuna Nicoise Sandwich. Yum...And it's French-ish, so you automatically appear more sophisticated.

Um, PB and J pops can't possibly have one more delicious consonant in them or I will eat my computer just looking at these babies.

Of course, you can always whip up Gina's fabulous Lemon/Lime cake I wrote about last summer.

Or attempt to be one ounce as talented and adorably-on-season as my friend Kellyn of KBakes and make her watermelon cookies.

Enjoy!
Pia The Pig

Bonus Friday Post!

How cute are these bloom flats from Payless? Super fun and chic for summer, and only $19.99. I will definitely be snagging these up this weekend. In fact, today, I am wearing some Payless sandals that I bought two years ago. So, we know they last!

These are perfect for those final days of your pedicure. :)

TGIF!
Pia The Pig

Picnics and Pools and Passion, Oh My! Part One: Cheers to Summer

Golden Beach House margarita photo by Terry Doyle with recipe to boot!

In case you haven't noticed, the sun is out and ready to party. Yesterday I got the official "pool's open!" email from a co-worker who welcomes the idea of his guests bringing something other than beer to his house this year. Which brings me to bringing you some posts with tips for summer cocktails, summer sammies for the picnic basket, and much more. Today we tackle: the cocktail! (Of course we start with that.) AAAD Reader Gina had some great recipes to share and here are some others as well. Bottoms up and Bottoms off! Yes, it's that hot.

From Gina:
The Passion Martini (made with rum – not vodka or gin- for the sweeter liquor drinker)

Ingredients:
Parrot Bay Passion Fruit Rum
Cranberry Juice
Orange Juice
Pineapple Juice (it’s better to get the small cans if you can, so it doesn’t go to waste)
Orange

Directions:
Combine 2 oz (or however much alcohol you want in your martini) with splashes of all three juices in a martini shaker with ice. Shake it up and pour.
The color should be a nice pink hue.
Cut up an orange into whole, round slices and let float on top.

Voila! That’s it!

*Parrot Bay has a few other flavors as well if people want to experiment including: Mango, Coconut, and Pineapple – but I haven’t been able to beat the Passion Martini yet.


-Working at Sambuca there was a peach martini. I think it was made with peach vodka, oj, and something else. You should ask your local bartender! And when looking for the other Parrot flavor’s – there were recipes on the Captain Morgan site, so you might want to look at the big liquor brand websites and see what you can find.


The White Margarita / Blanco Margarita

Ingredients:

Sauza BLANCO tequila
Limeaid
Limes

Directions:
No idea about the parts – but I’d start with a little tequila, a lot of limeaid, and then cut up some fresh limes, squeeze them in and then use them for garnish.

Thanks, Gina!

I made this Spiked Lemonade over the weekend and it was smooth and delightful. You can class up that lemonade with these free lemony downloads.


And finally, if you'd rather get your drink on a stick (because we all know everything tastes better on a stick), then saddle up for these Spiked Watermelon Pops that I will be making this weekend if not sooner. These are a Giada recipe so they will no doubt be great and I will no doubt look as "perky" as her while making them.

CHEERS!
Pia The Pig

Well Isn't This Awesome?

I practically live at Paper Source. Seriously, Ken, the nice manager at the Northpark store, knows me by name. I consult their website all the time to remind myself of envelope sizes which I should just tattoo on my forehead, but what I didn't find on their site until recently was their fantastic tips section. I stumbled on this after reading their fun blog one day. What a find! Here you can find lots of inspiring ideas, learn how to tie the perfect bow, make a celebrations banner, print on envelopes, and much much more. Well, there goes the next three hours.

Happy Crafting!
Pia The Pig

A Breath Of Fresh Air

Finally a commercial for a dating service that doesn't make me immediately want to punch the characters in it.



eHarmony, you once matched me with a celibate minister. And a woman. Listen.

XOXO,
Pia The Pig